Garment supporter



April 1 192.4.

' F. DOCHNAL GARMENT SUPPORTER Filed Sept. 18. 1922 Patented Apr.. 1, 1924i.

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Param" orrifc GRIi/IEN T SUPPORTER.

Application filed.y September To allk 107mm t 'may concern.:

Be it known that I, FRANK DOGHNAL, a citizen oi the Unitedy States, residingat Collinsville, in the county of Madison and State f Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulv Garment Supporter, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to garment supporters, and, more particularly to means for gathtning` or taking up the slack at the waist liner ot o versizedrawers, and,ihas. for its object the provision ot a distinct and practical improvement to overcome certain practical objections to, and detects in, the present method of drawer waist line adjustments.

A further object ot the invention is. to provide awaist line adjusting means tor lrawers, which, it desired, may bev detachable andl which will be simple in construction, cheap in; manufacture, comfortable when` worny and prove highly eiiicient forthe purpose intended.

A still further object ot the invention is f the provision ot elasticscctions between the gripping means oifthe article to permit end.- wise expansion thereof during various movements of the wearer.

With the above and other objects in View, as will be apparent hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel featuresy ot conand shown in full, lines as applied toy thewaist line ot a pair of drawers, either sex,A

and showing` in,- dotted lines, the fastening; straps before they are placed into operative position.

Fig,2, isla longitudinal ,sectional` view otl` thefsupporterapplied to a garment.y

Fig. 3-, 1s a modification ofthe method offk applyingy one endroit the article to the-waist line Qta garment.

Figf 4:, isa rear elevationogtgthe modiedf form ot vsupporter applied to ythe` waist line of apair of drawers,

In carrying out the aim of. my present invention, I employ a `nonfelastic. central;7 mem? 18, 1922. Serial No. 588,832.

ber 1, such as metallic, leather, cloth orequigvalent material; and provide the same with a verticallvdisposed slotted, or elongatedfbutton receivingopening which is larger inI diameter atits upper end designated,2,than atV its lower end designated 3. Asuitable leX-ible'fastener, or gripper strap t is suitably fixed to, or, it desired, may be integral. with the upper edge oi' the central supporter member 1, A button 5, with or without a shank` 6, as desired'.` is. suitably fixed totlievinner tace ot the strap if near itsifree end. The strap 4i. is ot such length asto told` over theupper edge 7 of a waist bandi 8- ot ai garment Qand engage the insideof the garment `waist' bandy and toper mit ltheibuttoinas well as a portion of the garment designated` 10, which engages and coverslthe'outer facey of the button, to be received by the enlarged upper end 2 ofk the button hole of the centra-ly supporter memben 1 and moved downwardly intoy engagement with the smaller end oithe button hole designated 3 to securely holdlr the central member 1 of the supporter upon the waist band 8 of the `garment 9;

It will beobserved that in forward bending and various other movements. of. the wearer, the button and its covering ot, tabrio garment material will more tightly engage-in the slotted opening,

Avn elastic fabric section 11 ot suitable length., is suitably iixed at one end toeach end` ot the central iiexible garment gripping membery 1, such. asby sewing stitches l2, or

by equivalent fastening means.

Inv the preferred embodiment ot my invention, a garment gripping device isl carried bythe outer endY ot each elastic sect-ion 1l, and each of said devices consist oit a nonelastic end member 13, each having a longitudinally disposed slotted opening 14e narrowing into,theA4 passage 15 at its outer end? and'terminatingy inthe button receiving opening 1.6, The members may be made trioll metal stampings, wire, leather or equivalen-t material, asy desired.V A flexible fasteneror gripper strap17' is suitably fixed to, or integral with the upper inner end portion of each end; memberxli.l These straps preferably diverge trom ,the endY members 131 and arey providedA uponA their yinner faces near their free. ends with, a, suitable button 18, which mayor may not be. provided with a shank 1,9, as desired'. These diverging straps 13y are of suchlength asto' told over lill lill) the upper edge 7 of the waist band 8, of the garment 9 to permit the buttons 18, as well as portions of the garment designated 20, which engage and cover the outerface of the buttons 18, to be received by the enlarged elongated openings 14e and finally moved outwardly into locking engagement with the openings 16.

When the waist band of the garment, such for instance as a pair of drawers, is too large for the wearer, the central grippin device for convenience now designated ig is first positioned and removably fixed to the center of the back portion of the garment and to the waist band Ithereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. After the supporter has been positioned, the wearer gathers the surplus goods of the waist band 9 upon one or either side of the center gripping device A, as designated 20 sufficient to shorten the band circumferentially to properly fit the wearer, and, then the end gripping devices for convenience, now designated B, are applied to the garment as hereinbefore described, so as to prevent the gathered portions of surplus material designated 20 from Xpandingexcepting as will be permitted during various bending movements of the wearer through the medium of the elastic sections 11.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the supporter is easily and quickly applied or detached from a garment, as it is merely buttoned to the garmen-t.

In Figures 3 and 4;, I have shown a moditied form of supporter wherein I eliminate one of the gripping straps 17 and suitably fix the end section 13 to the waist band 8 of the garment, which may be varied in shape and size, by sewing stitches 22, or by equivalent fastening means. In the modified form of supporter, the article remains a part of the garment, whereas in the form shown in Figures l and 2, the supporter can be quickly applied to a garment, and detached therefrom, and applied to another garment if desired.

Briefly, the supporte-r will permit the gathering of surplus waist band material of a pair of drawers, or like garment, as clearly. shown in Figures l and 2, and hold the surplus material in gathered formation upon one, or both sides of a central gripping device, thus causing the waist band to be adjusted to fit the wearer if too large, and

holding the waist band to its adjusted size, as taken up by the gathering of the material thereof.

From the foregoing description, it is evident that I provide a supporter for garments, which can be quickly applied for taking up the slack in oversize garments at the Waist band so as to properly lit the wearer thereof.

The many advantages of the herein described invention will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which it apperta-ins.

I do not wish to be understood as having limit-ed myself to the exact details o-f construction shown and described, but desire to have it understood that the invention I have shown in the drawings is merely illustrative, as it is manifest that various minor changes may be made in the eXact construction and particular arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, hence I reserve the right to make any such changes, or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims when fairly construed.

What I claim is:

1. In an article of the class described, central gripping means comprising a central member having a transversely disposed slotted opening larger in diameter at its upper end than at its lower end, a strap member provided with ya button for slidable reception within said opening when applied to a garment, and gripping means comprising a pair of opposed end members each having a longitudinally disposed slotted opening larger at one end than at the other end and a strap member for each end member provided with a button for slidable reception in said slotted openings when applied to a garment and an elastic connection between each end member and the central member for gathering the attached garment upon opposite sides of the central gripping means to tighten the waist line thereof.

2. A garment waist line takeup. supporter comprising a centrally disposed garment gripping means comprising a slotted member and an attached strap member provided with a button adapted to be applied to the waist band of a garment at a convenient point, end garment gripping means compris'- ing a pair of opposed slotted members each having an attached strap member provided with a. button adapted to be applied to the garment after surplus waist line material has been gathered upon either side of the central gripping means to adjust the waist band of the garment to the size of the wearer and elastic connections between the central gripping means and each end gripping means to permit of endwise expansion of the supporter during various movements of the wearer.

3. A garment supporter comprising a central clasp member provided with a slot, a flexible strap fixed to the upper edge of said central clasp member, a button fixed to the flexible strap and slidably receivable in the slotV of the central clasp member, an elastic band fixed to and extending from the side edges of said central clasp member, an end clasp member provided with a slot fixed to the outer end of each elastic member, a flexible strap' member xed to each end clasp member, and a button fixed to each strap member, said buttonsv each being Slidably receivable in the slot of its respective clasp member.

4'. A garment supporter comprising a central body member provided with a slotted opening, a strap fixed to said body member, a headed stud fixed to said strap and slidably receivable in said slotted opening, a pair of opposed elastic members fixed at one end to the side edges of said central body member and extending in opposite directions, ,a clasp member fixed to the free end of each elastic` member and each consisting of a body member having la slotted opening, a strap member for eac-l1 body member and a headed stud fixed to the free end of each strap member and slidabiy receivable in the slotted opening of its respective body member.

5. A garment supporter comprising a flexible central member, flexible end members and elastic intermediate connecting members, said flexible members each having a slotted opening formed therein larger in diameter at one end than at the other end, a strap member for each flexible member and a button carried by each strap member slidably receivable in the slotted openings of its respective flexible member for attaching a garment in fixed relation thereto.

6. A supporter for drawers comprising a central member having a transversely disposed slotted opening, a strap fixed to the upper edge of said central member, a button for said strap and slidably receivable in the slotted opening of said central member, a. pair of end members each having a longitudinally disposed slotted opening, a strap for each end member, a button fixed to each end strap and slidably receivable in the slotted opening of its respective end member and an elastic connection between the centra] member and eachr end member to permit circumferential expansion of the supporter when applied to the waist band of a. pair of drawers for the purpose of taking up the slack or surplus material at the waist line when too large for the wearer. 7. A supporter for drawers comprising a central member having a transversely disposed slotted opening to lie at the outside of the garment, a strap member fixed to the upper edge thereof, a but-ton carried at the free end of said strap member, said strap member adapted to fold over the upper edge of the waist band of the garment with the strap lying at the inside of the garment, and with the button and material of the garment engaging the button engageable in the slotted opening of the cen-i tral member, end fastening means adapted to be removably fixed to the garment at suitable distances from `the central member after the surplus material of the waist band of the garment has been gathered upon one or both sides of the central member and elastic connections between the central member and the end fastening means.

8. A garment supporter comprising a central body member provided with a transversely disposed slotted opening larger in diameter at its upper end than at its lower end, a strap fixed to said central body member, a headed stud fixed to said strap and slidably receivable in said slotted opening for holding a garment in fixed relation thereto, a pair of opposed elastic members fixed at their inner ends to the side edges of said central body member and extending in opposite directions therefrom, a Clas member fixed to the free end of each elastic member and each clasp member consisting of a body member having a longitudinal slotted opening larger in diameter at their inner ends than at their outer ends, a strap member for each body member and a headed stud fixed to the free end of each strap member and slidably receivable in the slotted opening of its respective body member for holding a garment in fixed relation the-reto.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to the specification.

FRANK DOCHNAL. 

